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Avalanche Forecast

Archived

Apr 14th, 2013–Apr 15th, 2013

Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Alpine
Natural avalanches unlikely, human triggered possible.
Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.
Below Treeline
Natural avalanches unlikely.

Regions

South Columbia.

Confidence

Fair - Timing or intensity of solar radiation is uncertain for the entire period

Weather Forecast

A ridge of high pressure is expected to develop throughout the forecast period. A mix of sun and cloud and generally light east/northeast winds are expected each day. Daytime freezing levels are meant to climb gradually from about 1000m on Monday to about 1600m on Wednesday.

Avalanche Summary

A size 2 skier accidental avalanche was triggered in the north of the region on a west aspect at 2200m. The skier was not caught in the avalanche which failed within the recent storm snow. Elsewhere, Friday night's storm slab was reactive to explosives and skier traffic in wind-affected terrain to size 1.5.

Snowpack Summary

Moderate to locally heavy snow accumulations from Friday night have been shifted by southwest, and more recently northeast winds into windslabs which exist at treeline and above.A surface hoar interface is buried within the upper metre or so of the snowpack, mainly on high-elevation northerly aspects. It may be slowly gaining some strength, but these slopes should still be treated with suspicion. On other slopes, recent storm snow overlies a crust. This interface may become particularly reactive on solar aspects as sunnier skies prevail over the next few days. Cornices in the region are very large and potentially destructive. Triggering will become more likely with forecast sunny periods.

Problems

Wind Slabs

Wind Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) formed by the wind. Wind typically transports snow from the upwind sides of terrain features and deposits snow on the downwind side. Wind slabs are often smooth and rounded and sometimes sound hollow, and can range from soft to hard. Wind slabs that form over a persistent weak layer (surface hoar, depth hoar, or near-surface facets) may be termed Persistent Slabs or may develop into Persistent Slabs.

Persistent Slabs

Persistent Slab avalanches are the release of a cohesive layer of snow (a slab) in the middle to upper snowpack, when the bond to an underlying persistent weak layer breaks. Persistent layers include: surface hoar, depth hoar, near-surface facets, or faceted snow. Persistent weak layers can continue to produce avalanches for days, weeks or even months, making them especially dangerous and tricky. As additional snow and wind events build a thicker slab on top of the persistent weak layer, this avalanche problem may develop into a Deep Persistent Slab.